George Mireku Duker

George Mireku Duker is a teacher turned politician who represented Tarkwa-Nsuaem, the heart of Ghana's gold mining belt, for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) from 2017 to 2025, and served as a Deputy Minister for Lands and Natural Resources from 2021 to 2025. He was born on 9 May 1975 at Dompim-Pepesa.

Teacher and mayor

Duker taught at Marysons College from 1998 to 2006 while studying accounting education at the University of Education's Kumasi campus. He holds a law degree from the University of London and a master's in business management from the University of Plymouth. In 2007 he became a special aide at the Ministry of Local Government, and in 2008 President Kufuor made him Municipal Chief Executive for Tarkwa-Nsuaem. He later managed programmes at the Integrated Social Development Centre (ISODEC).

Mining and minerals

He won Tarkwa-Nsuaem in 2016 with 62 percent of the vote and became vice-chair of the Mines and Energy Committee. From 2019 he chaired the Minerals Income Investment Fund, and from 2021 he was deputy lands minister, working on mining and the fight against illegal mining. He has also advocated for people with disabilities, donating wheelchairs and crutches on his birthday in 2024.

Issa Salifu Taylor of the National Democratic Congress won Tarkwa-Nsuaem in 2024.